I watched
Toy Story last night and realized once again something that was inescapable when I first read
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
.
Vantage point is everything.
As a toy's story, the film is an indictment of Sid, an alleged monster who tears apart and tortures toys. He has a sinister voice and menacing eyes. Pure evil.
But as Sid's story, Sid is not the villain but rather a fairly clever young boy who spends his time experimenting with machines and aerodynamics. No video games or television. He's interested in instruction manuals, rockets, and construction. Heck, he even has a vice in his room. Clearly he's going to be a damn good engineer one day. Maybe work for NASA. Some parents dream for a clever, creative kid like that.
But through the eyes of Buzz and Woody, he's a pimply brace-faced monster and he must be destroyed. Go figure.